The room was still as the seven poets waited on others to tell their stories. The audience was eager to hear what the poets had to share, waiting to see how it would be inspired and swayed by the rhymes of reciters’ poems.
Intensity stired in the room as the five judges sat quietly taking notes. The rush of anxiety flowed through the boiling veins of the contestants.
Sophomore Sara Ashbaugh steped in to take junior Andrew Hutchinson’s spot at the Poetry Out Loud regional competition at the Daniel Boone Public Library Feb. 15.
“Andrew was really the winner of the school competition,” Ashbaugh said. “But they asked me a week ago to step in because he had Model UN.”
With only a week ago, Ashbaugh stuck to the poems she recited at the school competition, instead of choosing new ones for this regional contest.
Ashbaugh started off her first poem with “The sea is calm tonight,” as passion streamed from her voice and character gleamed in her eyes.
The contestants had three rounds to prove their poetic skills. Ashbaugh’s first poem was “Dover Beach”  by Matthew Arnold. Her second choice was “In the Basement of the Goodwill Store” by Ted Kooser and her last, her most powerful she said, was called “More Lies” by Karin Gottshall.
“I think the last poem is my strongest because it fits me the best,” Ashbaugh said. “Also, I just like it the best.”
Ashbaugh is not only in the competition for the winning aspect but the presenting aspect as well. Her goal isnt to take home a win, but more of to please the audience with her story she has to tell.
“I hope they enjoy it more than anything and they can be part of the poem like I like it,” Ashbaugh said. “I think my performance was alright, but I don’t expect to win. I just like presenting, that is the best part of my poetry.”
Ashbaugh ended up taking second in the poetry competition.
By Caraline Trecha